Roof structure and material



Oct. 25, 1938. H. H. DOE 2,134,034

ROOF STRUCTURE AND MATERIAL Filed April 7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

' 7 ATTORNEY.

' I Oct. 25, 1938. H H, DOE 2,134,034

ROOF STRUCTURE AND MATERIAL Filed April 7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet INVEN TOR. oif'fo w ATTORNEY.

Oct. 25, 1938. H. H. DOE

v I ROOF STRUCTURE AND MATERIAL Filed April '7, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. U SFo' aW A TTORNE).

Patented Oct. 25, 1938 A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a roofing material and method of applying the same, and especially to a sheet metal covering for roofs, walls and like building structures, the present invention being a modification of the roof structure disclosed in I Patent No. 2,043,271, entitled Roof structure and materia issued June 9, 1936.

The roof structure disclosed in Patent No.

2,043,271 consists of long narrow strips of light-.

weight copper interlocked by seams along their longitudinal edges and secured to sheathing of a roof by short laths which are nailed to the sheathing and overlying the interlocking seams formed between the strips. The laths employed serve several functions: first, that of securing the strips of copper to the roof proper, and second, that of forming waves or ridges in the strips at uniform intervals; these waves or ridges produce a pattern or ornamental effect, and at the 2B same time permit expansion or contraction of the strips during temperature changes.

The purpose of the present invention is to cover a roof with the same type of material as above described, to-Wit, long narrow, interlocked :5 copper strips; to secure such strips to the sheathing of the roof by means of metal cleats; and further to provide laths or batten strips extending from the ridge to the eaves of a roof, said laths serving the purpose of forming waves or 9,9; ridges in the copper strips to permit expansion or contraction thereof and to produce new patterns or ornamental effects. v

The invention is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawingsin which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the first operation of attaching the copper strips;

Fig, 2 is a perspective view showing two'interlocked strips laid, and a third strip interlocked and in a position to be laid;

Fig; 3 is a cross-section of a portion of a roof showing two interlocked strips laid, and a third interlocked andready to be bent over into proper position;

Fig. 4 shows the manner in which two strips 45 are aligned prior to interlocking them, said view also showing one of the cleats placed in a position to be interlocked with the strips;

Fig. 5 is a section showing the first foldin operation of two strips and a cleat;

Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 5, showing the second folding operation and the cleat ready to be folded over and nailed down;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a copper strip showing the reinforcing and padding material 5,5- applied thereto;

Fig. 8 is a perspective .view similar to Fig. 1,. but showing the modification-thereof; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective View similar to Fig- 2, showing the stepped formation formed in the waves by laying the laths in shingle fashion with 5. the butt of each'lath overlying the seam and the upper end of an adjacent lath placed below the seam.

Referring to the drawings in detail, particularly Fig. 7, A indicates a strip of copper. The. f strip is narrow and long and is obtainable in lengths of 25 feet, 50 feet, or more as required. The width of the strip may vary, but in actual practice, a' strip 12 inches wide has proved very satisfactory. The thickness or gage of the strip also varies, but the material actually used is very thin, running from three-thousandths of anlinch to eight-thousandths of an inch or more.

Secured to one face of the copper strip is a reinforcing material which serves two other functions, to-wit, that of insulation and that of sound-deadening. This material is indicated at B. It is 'of the same length as the roofing strip, but it is narrow so as to leave'two bare surfaces such as indicated at 2-2, one on each side of the reinforcing strip, these bare" edges being necessary to permit folding and interlocking of adjacent strips, as will hereinafter appear. The reinforcing strip may be constructed of felt, padding, paper or the like, and it is secured to the i face of the copper by any suitable adhesive such as asphalt, etc.

It may be stated that copper is an ideal material for a roof covering, but it has heretofore been expensive due to the large heavy sheets required, and also because of the allowance re quired for expansion and contraction. In the' present instance, large sheets are dispensed with entirely, as the material employed is obtainable in narrow strips approximately 12 inches wide, and in lengths as long as'required. The thickness of the copper, as already stated, is usually between threeto eight-thousandths of an inch, and has proved exceedingly satisfactory. Eventhough such thin material is employed, allowance must be made both for longitudinal and lateral expansion and contraction. The mannerin which this is accomplished will be hereinafter described. 1

' In describing the laying of this roofing, reference will be made to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive. In Fig. 1, C indicates the sheathing boards with which the roof frame or joists are covered. Such covering is essential, as something must be provided into. which securing nails:can be. driven.,

Laths or batten strips such as shown at D are next nailed to the sheathing. These laths are spaced a suitable distance apart as shown, and extend from the ridge of the roof to the eaves. With the laths secured in place, the application of the metal roofing strips is accomplished as follows: A stripis first hung from the edge of the roof, and wooden laths 5 are applied and secured by brads or nails 6. The roofing strip is then bent around the lower edge of the laths as shown at l, and upwardly and over the same as indicated at 8, and then over the corner 9 of the roof, and is here laid out flat as shown at I0. A second strip of copper indicated at II is then laid on top of the strip III with the upper edge parallel to the first strip'as indicated at I2,.see.Fig, 4. The two strips o1 copper are then folded back on themselves to form a hook as shown at l3 in Fig. 5. Cleat strips M are then placed at spaced.

intervals as shown in Fig. 2, and the two sections of. metal are then bent upon themselves as shown at l5 in Fig.6. This lastv operation serves two functions: firstgthat of thoroughly securing the adjacent edges of the two strips with relation to each other by doubly interlocking them, and, secondly, that of securing the ends of the cleats I4. Thecleats arethen bent over the folded Inasmuch as the interlocked strips cross and overlie the laths D, it is desirable to apply pressure to each strip when laid, for instance by passing a roller over the same so as to cause the strips to contact the sheathing of the roof in the spaces between the laths, and also'to form waves or ridges E where the strips cross the laths, this being. important as ,the. waves or ridges thus formed are necessary to permit longitudinal expansion and contraction of the strips during temperature changes. Also, the waves or ridges'produce a pattern or ornamental effect which is highly desirable. The final result, when the series of strips are laid, is clearly shown by the two completed strips (see Fig. 2); that is, each strip forms ,an undulating surface in which the waves or ridges are transverse to the strips, the waves being formed both in the body of the strips and in the interlocked portions. This wave formation takes care of longitudinal expansion and contraction due to temperature changes. Expansion and contraction laterally of each sheet or strip is, of course, smal compared to the longitudinal expansion and contraction, but it must nevertheless be taken care of, and it is taken care of. by the interlocked joints formed by bend-.

ing the metal upon itself, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The .bends or folds leave a certain amount of slackness'in the material, and this slackness takescare of lateral expansion and contraction. j

It should be noted that the wave formations runin parallel rows or ridges from the ridge to the eaves, and that the direction of the ridges is substantially at right angles to the length of the roof. This produces a raised ornamental effect which is highly desirable, as 'copper material otherwise has a tendency to appear too flat. To further relieve the roof of too fiat an appearance, the laths maybe laid as shown in Figs. 8 and 9;

that is, in place of. employing long continuous laths as heretofore described, short laths such as indicated at 30 may be laid somewhat in the manner of shingles with the butt of each lath overlying the seam and the upper end of an adjacent lath positioned below the seam, thus producing steps 3| in the waves or ridges. This further changes the appearance of the roof, and in addithat variouschanges may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims, and similarly,

that the material and finish of the several parts 1. A roof covering composed of a plurality of.

metal strips running longitudinally of the roof, the adjacent edges of the strips being folded or seamed to join and interlock them, flexible metal cleats interfolded with the strips whereby each strip is secured to the sheathing of the roof by nailing the cleats thereto, and laths nailed to the sheathing of the roof, said laths being laid in parallel spaced rows in the form of shingles with their butt ends overlying the seams and the upper ends of adjacent laths positioned below the seams, and said rows being disposed substantially at right angles to the strips, said laths forming continuous spaced waves .in the interlocked strips which extend from the ridge to the eaves of the roof, and said laths also forming spaced steps in each wave in the direction of the slant of the roof.

2. A roof covering composed of a plurality of metal strips running longitudinally of the roof, the adjacent edges of the strips being folded or seamed to join and interlock them, flexible metal cleats interfolded with the strips whereby each strip issecured to the sheathing of the roof by nailing the cleats'thereto, and laths nailed to the sheathing of the roof, said laths being only slightly longer than the width of the strips, and being laid shingle fashion in parallel spaced rows with their butt ends overlying the seams and the upper ends of adjacent laths positioned below the seams, said rows of laths being disposed substantially at right angles to the strips, and said laths. forming continuous spaced waves in the interlocked strips, said waves extending from the ridge to the eaves of the roof, and said laths also forming spaced steps in each wave in the direction of the slant of the roof.

3. A roof. covering composed of. a plurality of metal strips extending longitudinally of the roof, seams joining and interlocking the adjacent edges of the strips, flexible cleats interlocked with the seams and nailed to the roof to secure the strips to the roof, and parallel spaced rows of laths extending from the ridge to the eaves of the roof and at right angles to the strips and disposed under the strips, said laths being laid in shingle fashion to form continuous spaced waves in the strips extending from the ridge to. the eaves and also having spaced step portions .in each wave.

4. A roof covering composed of. a plurality of metal strips extending longitudinally of the roof, seams joining and interlocking the adjacent edges of the strips, flexible cleats interlocked with the seams and nailed to the roof to secure the strips to the roof, and parallelspaced rows of laths extending from the ridge to the eaves of the roof and at right angles to the strips and disposed under the strips, said laths being laid in shingle fashion with their butt ends overlying the seams and the upper end of adjacent laths disposed below the seams to form continuous spaced waves in the strips extending from the ridge to the eaves and also having spaced step 5 portions in each wave.

.HANS I-I. D'OE. 

